Salt and Burn

Chapter 8 - What Now?

Sam sat on one of the beds with his head in his hands while Dean stood looking out of the window.

"Are you sure Sammy? Last night you couldn't even sense me. Maybe your trackers on the fritz."

Dean turned away from the window in time to catch his little brother's glare.

"Yes, Dean. I'm sure. It's the guys from the gas station. I felt them when they walked past me. You remember, the guy who held the door for you and his friend."

They were sitting across from each other now, one on each of the beds their positions mirroring each other.

"Yeah short-stack and the guy with the trench coat."

Sam nodded, grateful that at least Dean had remembered them.

"Right, well. Trenchcoat is a healer. And the other guy is an illusionist, but he's powerful, and I mean scary powerful. I sensed them again when I was outside, but then they were gone by the time I turned around."

He could practically see the confusion on Dean's face. Obviously he was even more convinced now than ever that Sam was imagining things. Sam however ignored his brother's disbelief. And asked a question of his own.

"Anyway, what now? From what I can pick up, Dad drove off with this mystery mutant. They could be anywhere. I can't even tell which direction they went in."

Dean sighed running a hand over his face before looking back at his brother.

"We keep digging till we find him. Before we came here we were tracking Yellow-Eyes' daughter, 'Siren', but we lost her. I bet she has something to do with this. If we find her we'll find dad. Might take a while."

That was the problem, Sam didn't have a while. He had to get back.

"Dean, I told you. I've gotta get back by Monday."

That was exactly what Dean didn't want to hear. It was already Saturday afternoon.

"By Monday. Right, the interview. I forgot. You're really serious about this aren't you? You think you're gonna become a lawyer? Marry your girl?"

Sam shrugged.

"Maybe, why not?"

It was as if he was daring Dean to pick holes. He really thought that he could do it, live a normal life. It was as if he had forgotten his brother's own attempts at the apple pie life.

"Does Jessica know the truth about you? Does she know about who you are, about what you can do?"

Sam glared across at his brother. Why did he feel the need to ask questions that he already knew the answer to.

"No. And she's not ever going to know."

Dean couldn't believe that he was being so naive.

"Well that's healthy. You can pretend all you want Sammy. But sooner or later you're gonna have to face up to who you really are."

Angry now, Sam stood up to glare down at his brother.

"And who's that?"

But Dean didn't even flinch under that look.

"One of us."

Sam was the first to look away as he started to pace.

"No, I'm not like you. This is not going to be my life."

Suddenly Dean was reminded of how Sam had been as a teenager, so determined to be anything other than who he was. But he wasn't a teenager anymore.

"You have a responsibility."

Sam couldn't help it, he scoffed at that.

"To dad? And his crusade? If it wasn't for pictures, I wouldn't even know what mum looked like."

Dean shook his head in disbelief. Did Sam not realise how much his actions could affect others.

"No Sam. Not to dad, to Jessica."

That did it, that got Sam's attention. He stopped pacing and looked back at his brother with his brow furrowed. Realising that he was listening, Dean continued.

"Say you get everything you want Sammy. You go to law school, you pass the bar, you become a lawyer. And then you Marry Jessica. You have the perfect life, the house, the car, the white picket fence, maybe a dog. You settle down and you have kids. And maybe you're lucky and your kid is a tracker. Hell, maybe they're completely normal, no mutations whatsoever. But maybe not. I hope to God that it's not the case, but what if your kid burns it's mother from the inside. I hate to say it man, but mum was in the hospital for months after you were born. And Lisa was on so many supplements just to bring Ben to term. And then..."

Sam sat down again, all of the anger disappearing in an instant.

"Alright, alright. I get it Dean. I get it."

How could he have forgotten. He had been there when Lisa had broken his brother's heart. He had been there when she had called him weeks later to say that she was pregnant. And he had been there when Ben had been born. It must be so hard for Dean knowing that he had a son out there that he hardly ever got to see.

"How is Ben anyway?"